NYC: An Urban Rooftop Renaissance

Innovation in housing and resource development has become a primary focus for cities as populations increase.

One way that New York city has started to deal with population surges is by utilising its rooftop airspace; building new residential units, gardens and maintenance buildings on top of the city’s existing architecture.

In her first series for #FutureofCities, our US Ambassador and resident New Yorker Vivienne Gucwa explores these new additions to the rooftops of her city.

Vivienne Gucwa, Artisan Of Imagery

"Photographers are moment collectors and dream catchers. Every image is the result of a tiny flicker that catches the photographer’s eye in such a profound way that it becomes impossible to ignore.”

Vivienne Gucwa started out completely broke and taking photos with a point & shoot camera 6 years ago.

She is now a full-time fine art travel photographer, making a living working on commissions that take her all over the world. When not travelling, Vivienne holds a passion for taking photos of the city she grew up in and loves dearly, New York City.

As one of nine Sony Artisans of Imagery, she enjoys connecting on a regular basis with her online audience of 2.5 million via her photography blog nythroughthelens.com

Her work has been published in a variety of publications online, in print, in ad campaigns, on album and book covers and on television.

Her best-selling New York photography book titled NY Through the Lens was released in stores worldwide and online in the autumn of 2014. The book is a visual nostalgic journey through the city that never sleeps.

Interview

Describe the moment you knew photography changed your life.

It had rained an hour or so before I made my way across the Brooklyn Bridge. As the sun started to set over New York City, the storm clouds parted just enough to allow the most magnificent sunlight wash over the Manhattan Bridge.

As the city skyline faded into a languid haze behind this gorgeously lit bridge, I knew right then and there that photography was something that made me feel more alive and at one with myself than anything else in the world.

If you could sum up your work in one word or one sentence, what would that be?

‘Saudade and Sehnsucht.’

Saudade is a Portuguese word that refers to an intense desire for something other than the present; a kind of dreamy wistfulness for things that are not found in the present environment, and Sehnsucht is a German word referring to a nostalgic longing for a far-away place that may or may not exist in reality.

What is the most remarkable person, place or thing you have ever photographed and why?

New York City at night during a blizzard is definitely one of the most magical things to experience and photograph. Winter nights in New York City wrap themselves around you like a cocoon.

Talk to us about your bucket list. What is on the top of your list of things to photograph?

My bucket list consists of traveling the world to do what I love. That said, I would love to take an epic rail journey across Europe, take time to explore Iceland and experience Patagonia fully. I could go on and on!

If you had not become a photographer, what might you be today?

I would definitely still be writing even if I had never discovered my passion for photography. It's a joy that writing and photography are inseparable for me at this point. If I didn't have the opportunity to be a photographer, I would still be writing all the time.

Give us your thoughts about the Global Imaging Ambassadors program.

It's a wonderful program. Sony is at the forefront of innovation currently, so it's fantastic to discover the brilliant bodies of work produced by the professionals using their equipment.

What is your favourite Sony camera of the moment and why?

I am definitely loving the Sony a7R right now. I used it while on assignment in Paris and the image quality is stellar.